It is pretty universally understood that safety Glover Quin is the biggest in-house free agent priority for the Houston Texans this offseason. Aside from the fact that the safety market, as always, is pretty thin, Quin is the--pardon the pun--quintessential safety for a Wade Phillips defense.

Due to the one-gap scheme up front, Phillips' defense best performs with defensive backs who offer versatility. In traditional defenses, a safety is either a freelancing ball-hawk or an in-the-box tackler, but Quin has shown the ability to do both. His performance against Minnesota and Adrian Peterson exemplified Quin's ability to read, flow, and tackle in the box, and, due to his past as a cornerback, Quin is more than able to drop down in the slot to man up on a receiver or tight end. Jake Locker can also attest to Quin's ability to blitz off the edge, something Phillips showed often this season.

If Quin were to leave, unlikely given the near-league-low-cost of a safety franchise tag, the Texans would be hard-pressed to find a replacement. Rookies are a bit of a gamble, and the free agent market appears to be fairly thin at safety. Given how rare it is for the front office to utilize the franchise tag, it's a safe bet that they'll be working hard to negotiate a long-term deal with Quin. The question, especially for those wringing their hands together about the salary cap, is what kind of deal do you give the valuable GQ?